ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — A New Mexico teen was in his right mind the morning he shot and killed his family and buried them in a manure pile, according to a psychiatrist who examined the teen more than a year later.

"His behavior reflected he was aware that what he was doing was wrong," Dr. Wade Myers said of 16-year-old Cody Posey, who claims a lifetime of abuse drove him to fatally shoot his father, stepmother and 13-year-old stepsister in July 2004.

In his second day on the witness stand, Myers said Cody realized he had alternatives and could face consequences for his actions, but still formed the specific intent to kill his father, Paul Posey, stepmother, Tryone, and stepsister Marilea.

"It was clear it was intentional. He said he shot his stepmother a second time to make sure, 'to get the job done,'" Myers said as Cody stared at the defense table, scribbling notes. "He said he shot Marilea a second time because she was still moving."

Story continues

advertisement

"Do you have an opinion as to whether Cody Posey lost his mind the morning of July 5, 2004?" asked Otero County children's attorney Sandra Grisham, referring to Cody's own explanation from the witness stand for the killings.

"It's my opinion that he did not," the Florida-based psychiatrist testified.

Myers testified that Cody demonstrated several psychopathic tendencies that motivated the killings, and not a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse, which Cody claims made him snap in a momentary lapse of judgment.

Cody scored 19 out of 40 on a "psychopathology test" that detects traits in an adolescent that may lend to antisocial behavior as an adult.

The "average child in the community" ranks at 3.2 on the test, Myers testified.

The witness scored Cody the highest on poor anger control and lack of empathy, citing the death of his stepsister, Marilea.

"The fact that he could kill his sister, whom he described as getting along with well, to eliminate her as witness to the crimes, I think that shows an extreme degree of callousness," he testified.

With the threat of a mistrial hanging over him, Myers was prevented from elaborating on what he felt the test results ultimately implied.

Specifically, Myers was prevented from offering his opinion that Cody was a "pathological liar" who concocted tales of the physical and sexual abuse to shield himself from three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of tampering with evidence.

District Judge James Waylon Counts announced the ruling after a contentious morning of arguments outside the presence of the jury, with the two opposed views of the case emerging.

In his own testimony, Cody described numerous instances of physical and emotional abuse, from his stepmother slapping him across the face, knocking his hat off, to his father threatening to cut off his testicles with a hay hook for stalling a pickup truck.

With the psychiatrist's testimony, the state intended to advance its theory that Cody was a budding psychopath who killed his disciplinarian parents to escape the strict lifestyle they imposed upon him.

Grisham argued outside the presence of the jury that the state should be allowed to present evidence refuting the abuse allegations, which she has described as "lies" and "fairy tales."

"If you elicit testimony from your psychiatrist where he purports to say what did or did not happen, that would result in a mistrial with prejudice," Counts told Grisham. "That is for the jury to decide."

In his cross-examination of the psychiatrist, defense lawyer Gary Mitchell questioned Myers on the source of his findings in a tedious, hour-long recap of the 38 defense witnesses who supported Cody's claims.

Myers testified he had no knowledge of most of the claims, from the ranch hand who allegedly saw Paul Posey hit his son with a lariat to the friends and relatives who said they were unable to contact Cody after his biological mother died and Paul Posey took custody of him.

Mitchell also highlighted events from Cody's traumatic and often tragic childhood.

"Did you consider the fact he had lived in six different homes?" asked Mitchell, referring to both Paul Posey's position as a ranch hand and a husband to three different women, both of which moved him and his family to different parts of the state on a frequent basis.

"Or how about he'd been abandoned by his biological mother, or that he'd been through a divorce?" continued Mitchell, himself a ranch owner who's known for his cowboy boots and Western-themed ties.

Myers answered that he considered them both, but did not elaborate on how they affected his opinion.

The trial is being broadcast live on Court TV and streamed on the Web at Court TV Extra.